# Huge Google Problem
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 15, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078 "2003-06-15T20:33:50Z")
**Posts on this page:** 14
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@punkkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punkkid)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/1 "2003-06-15T20:33:50Z")
Recently, (i.e over the past three/four days), everytime I try to do a Google search, my IEXPLORE freezes up and doesn’t work again unless I Ctrl-Alt-Del it. Every other search engine work (except for Yahoo), even Google Image Search works. I did anAd-Aware search and a viral scan, once in normal mode and once in safe mode, and it found nothing. What the \*&^% is going on? Oh, and I have a Pentium 4, 2.56 GHz, HP Pavilion, with a cable internet connection.
PLEASE HELP!!!
---
### Author:  [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/2 "2003-06-15T20:51:48Z")
The first thing I would recommend is clearing your cookies and temporary internet files. Open IE and go to **Tools|Internet Options**. Hit **Delete Cookies** and then **OK**. Hit **Delete Files** , check the box for **Delete all offline content** and hit **OK** twice. Close IE and then go back in.
You should also apply all available patches from [Windows Update](http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com).
Do you use any web filters or popup blockers?
---
### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/3 "2003-06-15T21:13:30Z")
You also might try something like Ad-aware ( [http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/](http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) – it’s free). It will clear out spyware on your computer. I had a co-worker whose PC would seem to lock for about 30 seconds when surfing to new web pages and other programs were sluggish as hell. I cleared the cookies, deleted temp files, defragged and so on and nothing seemed to work at all. I ran Ad-aware and found his PC to be infested with spyware. After Ad-aware was run the PC ran like a champ. Note that Ad-aware can cause some programs like Kazaa to stop working as they constitute spyware as well. You would have to either tell Ad-aware to ignore the Kazaa pieces or re-install Kazaa.
---
### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/4 "2003-06-15T21:14:40Z")
One other thing…if none of the above ideas help scan for viruses.
---
### Author:  [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/5 "2003-06-15T21:34:10Z")
Check the OP.
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by punkkid \*
> **I did anAd-Aware search and a viral scan, once in normal mode and once in safe mode, and it found nothing.**
---
### Author:  [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/6 "2003-06-15T22:10:11Z")
Whoops…not sure why I missed in the OP that Ad-aware was run.
However, I am shocked that Ad-aware found nothing. I have run Ad-aware, cleaned out the junk it found, surfed for (literally) one minute and re-ran Ad-aware and some spyware was already back on my system. In particular Doubleclick. Through normal surfing some spyware is close to unavoidable (not quite but you have to work at stopping it). I am skeptical of Ad-aware showing nothing. I’m not saying it is impossible…just unlikely.
I would suggest making sure Ad-aware has the latest definition files and taking a close look at how you are running Ad-aware. It has a quick scan and a thorough scan…do the thorough scan and make sure both memory AND your harddrive are scanned.
---
### Author:  [@Daizy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daizy)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/7 "2003-06-15T22:30:05Z")
What O/S are you running?
I’m not sure I fully understand? Do you only lock up when you use google?
Daizy
---
### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/8 "2003-06-15T22:58:33Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Whack-a-Mole \*
> **I have run Ad-aware, cleaned out the junk it found, surfed for (literally) one minute and re-ran Ad-aware and some spyware was already back on my system. In particular Doubleclick. Through normal surfing some spyware is close to unavoidable (not quite but you have to work at stopping it). I am skeptical of Ad-aware showing nothing. I’m not saying it is impossible…just unlikely.**
Not if you set IE 6.0 to reject third party cookies like DoubleClick, FastClick, ValueClick, et al. Just go to **Internet Options/Privacy/Advanced** and under **Third Party Cookies** select **Always Block**. I have mine to always accept first party cookies and session cookies, so it doeasn’t interfere with legitimate cookies, and now AdAware rarely finds unwanted cookies on my computer.
---
### Author:  [@jack\_ss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jack_ss)
#### Post date: [June 15, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/9 "2003-06-15T23:33:14Z")
I set mine to prompt for first party cookies and always allow session cookies
---
### Author:  [@punkkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punkkid)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/10 "2003-06-16T00:15:48Z")
OK, let me rephrase (sorry for any misunderstanding), I ran AdAware, it found some things (both times), but neither of them were the culprit. Also, I am running Windows XP to answer Daizy.
As far as the search for the cure goes, I did all of the Windows Updates as well as the whole delete files and cookies thing as directed above and neither plan work. I also ran AdAware and virus scan again, just for the hell of it, to no avail. I’m officially worried now.
---
### Author:  [@punkkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punkkid)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/11 "2003-06-16T00:17:59Z")
Another thing I forgot to mention: I have no filter or pop-up blockers. It’s also something that happened over the past 2 days, so I don’t think that it could be attributed to a filter anyway.
---
### Author:  [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/12 "2003-06-16T02:12:44Z")
Did you try rebooting? I was having a problem with My Yahoo not accepting my cookies so I couldn’t sign in to my personalized page, but all other sites were accepting my cookies just fine. A reboot solved my problem.
---
### Author:  [@ooga\_booga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ooga_booga)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/13 "2003-06-16T02:18:06Z")
I might suggest making a pass through your system with [Spybot](http://beam.to/spybotsd). It’s like Ad-Aware, but it catches some stuff Ad-Aware doesn’t, and vice versa. I regularly use them both in tandem and each one finds spyware that the other missed.
---
### Author:  [@punkkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punkkid)
#### Post date: [June 16, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/huge-google-problem/182078/14 "2003-06-16T15:38:49Z")
I tried Spybot as well as AdAware, again, to no avail. But I found a temporary way around the problem: [google.co.uk](http://google.co.uk) seems to work fine for me.